Just a heads up: this will be a spoiler-free review. Regardless, I'd advise you all to go see this movie ASAP (and maybe watch the first Blade Runner just as a quick refresher before you check out the sequel) before everyone else spoils it for you. In the meantime, on with the critiquing.
Sitting in my local IMAX theater, witnessing the awe-inspiring marvel that is Blade Runner 2049 made me feel like I was experiencing the real-life equivalent of the Stargate sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey. So much complex beauty to take in, that you're left speechless and thinking "Wow! That was an experience!" I haven't left a screening so speechless and awestruck since I saw Christopher Nolan's Interstellar about three years ago. To discuss the plot in any way would potentially ruin a mystifying experience that I wouldn't dare deprive you of.
It must be said that the entire cast brings all that they got to the table. Ryan Gosling manages to undercut a very cold demeanor with layers of raw emotion. The pain and melancholy his character goes through is poignant and thought-provoking. Robin Wright does fine of giving her expository dialogue some personality and pathos. Despite their relatively brief amounts of screentime, Jared Leto and Dave Bautista leave big impressions in their respective parts. Incidentally, Harrison Ford's extended appearance around the end of the second act turns out to be quite satisfying while adding a few more layers to his character. There are also great moments from bitplayers like Barkhad Abdi, Mackenzie Davis, and Sylvia Hoeks. With all that said, the real standout here acting-wise is relative newcomer Ana de Armas. Her relationship with Ryan Gosling's K is tender and sweet while also maintaining an ethereal aura of tragedy. Here's hoping this is a breakout for her like how it was for Sean Young in the 1982 original.
Thankfully, the fantastic acting and masterful storytelling are matched by near flawless technical aspects. If Roger Deakins doesn't win next year's Best Cinematography Oscar, the Academy Awards will be officially worthless*. He conjures up so many colorful, instantly iconic images that one might say this is his best work to date (and that's saying a lot). Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfisch provide a mesmerizing score. While not living up the astronomical heights of Vangelis' compositions from the original (really, what can?), it complements the film extremely well and is easily among the former's best work since Man of Steel. Fortunately, it doesn't rely on constantly using cues from the original to work and provides the movie with something truly fitting. Don't get me wrong, there are occasional tones from the original score; but, they're used sparingly and with great purpose. All of the effects work is jaw-dropping. It manages to expand upon the already fascinating world of the original in novel and interesting ways. Plus, its still kind of funny to see Atari is a huge voice in the consumer market in the not-too-distant future. My only nitpick about the movie is a certain plot point regarding Gosling's character near the beginning of the third act. Maybe I'm in the minority on this, but I feel like it robs his character of a little more intrigue. Even with that, that doesn't stop everything else from being absolutely top-notch.
In the end, only time will tell if Blade Runner 2049 goes on to become a classic work of cinematic science fiction like its predecessor; nevertheless, its a relentlessly captivating work of filmic artistry in its own right. Director Denis Villeneuve and company should be applauded for accomplishing the impossible. Aside from being an amazing sequel, it displays the very best of what mainstream blockbusters and the very medium of the motion picture can offer.
BLADE RUNNER 2049 gets an...
ARTISTIC TRIUMPH out of TEN
*Which, if we're being honest with ourselves, they kind of are already.
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